


I would swim to you

by calliopestories



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Based on a Tumblr Post, M/M, Meet-Cute, Rating May Change, Selkie AU, Shiro is a veteran, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Upped the rating for swearing and sexual comments, al characters are aged up, based on prompt, shance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-21 05:49:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17637113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calliopestories/pseuds/calliopestories
Summary: The customer was a guy, a little younger than Shiro and obviously not from the area. He would have remembered seeing someone with a fur coat in the middle of the summer.He also would have remembered seeing someone this gorgeous.aka Shiro does something nice for a stranger and unknowingly marries a selkie





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this tumblr post/prompt](http://calliopestories.tumblr.com/post/171104194610/howtobangyourmonster-kurara-black-blog)  
> Title loosely based on [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPzSFkLchxM)  
> I wrote this like a year ago and never posted it but today I got this "now or never" feeling so here it is! I can't promise regular updates but I have two more chapter drafted out.  
> I'm not an expert on selkie lore, I'm making stuff up as I go.  
> Betaread by cupcakedictator (tumblr), sempermoi (tumblr)/sempern0x (here) and shirocest (tumblr and here) because I'm an insecure bitch

Shiro woke up before his alarm went off. He always did. He waited until then to get up. He always did.

 

Originally, the apartment at the beach was supposed to be a vacation house. A place to recover from his injuries. “Healthy air,” the doctor had prescribed him. The plan was to stay for a few months at most and then return to the city. Get a job, buy a house, fall in love, get married. The cookie cutter life. But he never followed through on it.

Some people might say he was just running away from reality. That life would one day catch up with him.

He tried to pay them no mind.

 

“Mornin’ Hunk!” Shiro called when he arrived at work.

“Oh hey Shiro, you’re early today. Did you have a good run? You can get started by prepping the salad bar.”

“It was nice, it always is,” he answered while putting on an apron. Chef’s orders.

 

He had been so lucky to find Hunk. When he first arrived in town, he was still struggling to adjust to normal life again. One of the aspects of normal life was getting a job. Now, the problem wasn’t that nobody wanted to hire him. Many local business owners wanted to hire a veteran, mostly because it made them look like good people. The problem wasn’t even that he got fired from all those jobs.

Shiro always quit before it came to that point.

But Hunk wouldn’t let him go just like that. Whenever Shiro tried to quit, he simply offered him a different job. There were enough different things to do at  _ Balmera _ . Hunk ran a small grocery store-bakery-coffee shop sort of place, together with his girlfriend Shay.

When Shiro got his fifth panic attack in a week while manning the register, he became the cake decorator. When he dropped a bowl of frosting because of phantom pain in his hand, he became the window cleaner. When he tried to convince Hunk that  _ it was useless, he wasn’t the employee Hunk deserved, he’d never fit in, _ Hunk gave him hope again. Lots of it. After a while Shiro accepted the part-time job and he just helped out where needed.

 

“Hello handsome.”

Shiro looked up from the coffee machine and turned around behind the register to greet the customer. “Hello and welcome to Balmera, how can I help you?” He ignored the obvious flirtation like someone who’s on the clock is supposed to do. The customer was a guy, a little younger than Shiro and obviously not from the area. He would have remembered seeing someone with a fur coat in the middle of the summer.

He also would have remembered seeing someone this gorgeous.

“I actually came to get lunch with Hunk, but if you’re hungry I’m willing to change my plans,” the guy said smoothly while taking off his rose gold sunglasses. He leaned on the counter and casually bit the leg of his aviators. But Shiro wasn’t looking at his mouth, he was focused on his eyes. They were an unusual shade of cobalt blue, so vibrant that they almost seemed fake. He stood there for a moment, captivated by the blue, before realizing the guy was waiting for a reply.

“I’m- euhm I’m working but I- I can…” He took a deep breath. Why did this guy have such an effect on him? He was staring into a stranger’s eyes and stammering on top of that! Shiro could feel his face start to heat up in embarrassment. He swallowed. “I’ll go find Hunk.”

Luckily, Hunk just came out of the kitchen with a batch of freshly baked bread. “Lance! I had no idea you’d arrive this early!” He put the loaves on their shelf and went to hug the guy.  _ Lance. _

“Shiro, this is Lance, my friend from college I told you about.”

_ 'Wait… friend from college? This guy studied marine biology???’ _

“You talk about me behind my back?” Lance pursed his lips before breaking into a grin, “I’m flattered, please continue.”

“Alright, let’s get you something to eat.” Hunk turned to Shiro. “I’m going to take my break now, just call me when I’m needed, okay?”

Shiro could only nod.

 

After that, it was a fairly uneventful noon shift. The usual surfer dudes and local business owners came in for a sandwich or a salad, the locals bought bread and groceries, the tourists ate ice cream or drank soda. The fun thing about living in a small city was seeing the same people all the time. Shiro made small talk here and there, stocked the shelves when needed and helped Shay in the kitchen.

When he went to the sitting area to clean some tables, he saw Lance’s fur coat lying on the floor. It probably fell from the back of his chair. Lance didn’t seem to have noticed it.

He stopped to pick it up and drape it back over Lance’s chair.

“Hey what do you think you’re- oh it’s you,” Lance reacted angrily when he came close but his features softened when he recognized Shiro from earlier.

“You dropped your coat,” he explained. He then turned around to go clean the table behind them.

 

Because of that he missed the look of utter disbelief that was plastered on Lance’s face.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance has a pretty rotten day and Shiro doesn't know what to do about it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter I had pretty much finished, the next one will take a bit longer since I work full-time now  
> tw for gay slurs and verbal sexual harassment

It had been a few days since Lance had stumbled into Balmera and he’d never really left. He was at the shop every day, making small talk with customers and helping out where needed. If Shiro didn’t know any better he’d think Hunk had hired the guy.

 

He was sitting at one of the tables, reading a newspaper and enjoying his break, when he noticed Lance walking towards him.

“Hey Lance, what’s up?”

Lance sat down in front of him and placed two mugs in between them. “Some people changed their orders when they were already made. Feel like sharing some lukewarm coffee with me? Hunk says it’s a waste to toss them.”

Shiro smiled and picked up a mug. “I never say no to free coffee.”

“That’s a good motto to have. You should get that embroidered on a pillow or something.” They both laughed at that.

For a while they sat in a content silence, enjoying their free of charge beverage. Shiro continued reading the paper and Lance looked outside at the calm ocean in the distance.

“So,” Lance said after he finished his drink, ”I saw you running at the beach this morning. Do you do that often?”

“Every morning. It’s a part of my morning routine, I don’t feel like myself when I skip it.” He paused for a moment. “Where were you when you saw me? I didn’t notice anyone at the beach this morning. You should’ve come over and said hi, I don’t mind the company.”

Lance shook his head. “You looked really focused, I didn’t want to interfere with your workout. And you were wearing headphones, which is like the universal symbol for ‘please don’t talk to me’.”

“Next time you see me, feel free to talk to me,” he insisted. 

 

It was no secret that Lance cared about his looks. He genuinely loved picking out cute outfits every day, even though he was literally the only one in town who bothered with fashion. They lived in a beach town where it was hot 24/7. Most people there only owned tank tops and swimming trunks.

That day he wore heavily ripped black skinny jeans, black boots, a cropped peach shirt and rose gold sunglasses. Paired with his fur coat of course. He wore that thing every day.

Shiro thought he looked great even though he seemed a little out of place, sweeping the floor in that outfit. But he wore it anyway. That’s something Shiro came to love about Lance. The guy didn’t change for anyone. He got all kinds of comments about his outfit choices ranging from “OMG I never thought about styling a fur that way, awesome!” to “What the fuck are you wearing, you twink?”, but he still wore what he loved to wear.

Shiro was preparing some sandwiches when he saw one of the surfer dudes at table two point at Lance after he had taken their order. He said something to his friend and they laughed. It probably wasn’t a nice thing and Shiro felt his blood start to boil.

“Do you want me to take over that table?” he asked when Lance passed by him. He didn’t bother specifying which table, there was only one in Lance’s area that was occupied. He sighed in annoyance, it was clear that he knew what Shiro was talking about. 

“Thanks for the offer, but I can handle whatever they throw at me,” he assured him. “I’ll ask for help when I need it.”

A little bit later, Lance went back to table two. Shiro was worried so he kept a close eye on them. And sure enough, when Lance put down their sandwiches, it went downhill.

“Didn’t you get the memo? It’s summer!” They both laughed. 

“The way I dress doesn’t concern you and it doesn’t affect the way your food tastes, so I’d suggest you mind your own business,” Lance tried to defend himself. He was remarkably calm but Shiro could pick up on the bitter undertone.

“Oh come on, you can’t dress like that and expect people not to laugh at you!” the second guy spoke up. “You look ridiculous! With those girly jeans and that mangy coat, you look like a wannabe Kim Kardashian. It’s even worse because you’re a boy. Just go back to the pretentious city you came from, we don’t dress like fags around here.” 

“I even think he’s wearing makeup,” dude number one pointed out.

“You’re right, he is! So you are a twink! What the fuck are you doing in this town, didn’t you notice the church here? We don’t want any of your kind here.” More laughter. “You’ll infect us!” 

“Just you imagine him with a long wig and that outfit sitting on his knees… I bet he sucks great cock.” He turned back to Lance, who remained stoic. “You know what, if you ask nicely you can blow me after your shift is done, you cockslut. I’ll wait for you.” He blew him a kiss. 

Lance took the two sodas from his tray and put them down on the table. “Enjoy your food.” He walked back to the kitchen, seemingly unphased, accompanied by a last round of laughter.

About twenty minutes later, the rude guys were gone and Lance still hadn’t come out of the kitchen. There were no customers so Shiro went to check on him but he only saw Hunk and Shay. “Did you see where Lance went?” he asked them.

“He’s upstairs.” Hunk answered. “He seemed upset and asked if he could take a break so I told him he could crash upstairs.”

Shay nodded. “Do you know what happened? I went to check on him and he was crying. I sat with him for a bit but he didn’t want to talk about it.”

“Two guys harassed him about his clothes and insulted him with gay slurs. He had asked me not to step in but… I wonder if that was the right thing to do. I wanted to punch them in the face. Or in the stomach. Or both, if I got the chance. Should I go check on him instead?”

Hunk hesitated. “Lance usually wants some time alone to process things before he’s ready to talk about it. He just doesn’t want anyone to see him when he’s hurt. He’ll come down when he’s ready for company.”

“If you say so, you know him best. I’ll go back to the shop then. Could you come find me when he decides to come down?”

“Sure thing.”

 

Shiro didn’t see Lance until he was about to leave. Hunk and Shay had just gone upstairs and Lance was walking towards the door without noticing Shiro. The guy still looked shaken up by what had happened earlier.

“Lance?”

He flinched. “Yeah, what’s up?” He turned around to face him and Shiro swallowed. It was clear that he had been crying even though he hid it well. He had touched up his makeup but his eyes were still puffy and his bright smile was absent.

“Can I- and don’t take this the wrong way- can I walk you home? I don’t feel comfortable letting you go home alone when those guys could be waiting for you.”

Lance was quiet for a bit, clearly struggling with Shiro’s request. “I don’t know, I live pretty far from here. I wouldn’t want to make you walk that far.”

“Where do you live?” Shiro hoped he didn’t sound like a creep.

He hesitated again, like he didn’t know what to answer. Like he forgot his address. ‘That’s weird, what kind of guy doesn’t know where he lives? Or maybe he just doesn’t want me to know. That’s probably it.’ “At the beach, just out of town. That way,” he pointed to the left.

“I live that way too, I doubt it’s much further. And I don’t mind taking a detour. But I understand it if you’re not comfortable with me. I know we’ve only met a few days ago.”

Now Lance didn’t hesitate at all. “No that’s not it! I just.. I don’t like to show people where I live. It’s personal. But I would love to walk together. Maybe we can walk to your place and I can go from there?”

“I can live with that. Shall we?” He held the door open for Lance.

 

After a few streets the silence turned uncomfortable and Shiro felt compelled to fill it with something, anything. “I’m sorry I didn’t step in earlier,” he said. ‘Fuck, he probably doesn’t want to be reminded of that!’

Lance shrugged. “You just did what I asked you to do. Which I appreciate by the way. I just don’t want to be saved all the time, I’m not a damsel in distress. I told you I would ask for help when I wanted it.” 

“Asking for help doesn’t make you a damsel in distress.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “But it would’ve given them something else to laugh about.”

“Maybe. We’ll never know. I told them they weren’t welcome in the shop anymore, so hopefully we’ll never have to see them again.”

“Thanks for doing that. I just don’t get why they’re so hateful. I can take the gay slurs and the regular insults, I’m used to them. I’m just pretty sensitive when people make fun of my fur. It’s stupid, I know.” He dropped his head and kicked some sand around.

“It’s not stupid,” Shiro said reassuringly, “it’s important to you. We all get defensive about the things we love.” He wanted to take Lance’s hand in his to comfort him, but he didn’t dare. 

Lance looked up at him. His eyes didn’t have the same sparkle they usually had but they still had the same impact on Shiro. He couldn’t help but feel like drowning in them whenever he and Lance made eye contact. “That’s- that’s exactly how I feel. My fur is a part of me, a part I love and don’t want to lose. But I think you know that already.” He smiled softly. It was great to see Lance’s smile again. Shiro was so taken by him that he almost missed his own apartment complex. 

“This is me.” He took out his keys but didn’t unlock the door just yet. “Please be careful. Unless you want to come in?”

“I think it’s a bit soon for that,” he said with a wink. Good, his winking was back too. “Sleep tight, Shiro.” He turned around before the other could answer and started walking away.

Shiro wanted to reach out to him and make him stay but he didn’t. He had no right to ask that of Lance. “Will I see you tomorrow?” he asked instead. Which was a stupid question because Lance was at the shop every day. But he still wanted to make sure. Lance came out of nowhere and Shiro felt like he could disappear at any moment. 

Lance turned around one last time, waved and smiled, then continued walking away.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also on [tumblr!](http://calliopestories.tumblr.com/)  
> Hit me up if you're looking for a beta reader!


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